Banana-shipping case.



N'O. 726,578. PATBNTED APR. 28,1903.

F. SGHMITZ, BANANA SHIPPING CASE;

APPLICATION FILED APR. 30, 1902. N0 MODEL.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

PATENTED APR. 28, 1903.

vT. vSO'HMITZ. BANANA SHIPPING CASE.

ABPLIOATION FILED APR. 30, 1902.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

N0 MODEL.

llmrniu STATES Farmer rrrch.

FRANK SCHMITZ, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

BANANA- SHEPPENG CASE.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 726,578, dated April 28, 19031. Application filed April 30, 1902. Serial No. 105,278. (No model.)

To a whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, FRANK SOHMITZ, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Banana-Shipping Cases, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in banana shipping cases; and its object is to produce a device of this kind which is cheap, .light, and strong and while perfectly ventilated will accommodate bunches of difierent sizes and cushion them to prevent bruising the fruit.

To this end my invention relates to certain novel features of construction, which are fully shown in the accompanying drawings and described in this specification.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical section of my improved crate, the line of section being indicated at 1 1 in Fig. 6. Fig. 2 is a plan of the piece from which the bottom is constructed. Fig. 3 is a plan of the piece folded once across, which folding is the first step in constructing the bottom. Fig. 4 is an elevation of the completed bottom. Fig. 5 is an elevation of my improved crate, showing certain portions broken away. Fig. 6 is a top plan of my improved crate, and Fig. 7 is a section in the line 7 7 of Fig. 5.

In the case Ais a suitable open-work crate made up of longitudinal slats a and encircling hoops o, 01, (1. a connected to said slats to form a suitable frame capable of supporting a bunch of bananas. Within this crate is suspended a funnel-shaped bottom 13, preferably made up of some fabric, such as burlap or the like, which is pliable and forms a support for the bananas besides allowing air to pass freely through it. As shown, this bottom is secured to the hoop 0. by securing its top between the hoop and the slats, where it may be tacked to the hoop or otherwise secured thereto, as desired. The inclosin g wall of the case (seen at 0) consists, preferably, of a sheet of elastic material, such as very stout paper, veneer, papier-mach, or some like substance, which may be rolled into a cylindrical shape, but on account of its elasticity will tend to unroll, and thereby when placed within the crate will expand and hold itself firmly in place.

In order to perfectly cushion the fruit, I use in addition to the'longitudinal slats a certain spring-slats C, which are bowed inward, as shown in Fig. 1, these slats running outside of the top and bottom hoops a a and inside of the intermediate hoops 01, a The bottom B is cut away, as shown, to permit these hoops to beplaced in position. It will be seen that the tendency of these hoops is to spring toward the center of the crate and to hold the elastic casing out of contact therewith. This perfectly cushions the fruit within the casing, and as these hoops have considerable spring prevents any damage due to shaking about. The top of the casing is closed by a cap or cover D, conical in shape and having a perforation in the center,through which the stem of a bunch of bananas may extend, and this cap is provided with strings d, by which it is held in place upon the crate.

The funnel-shaped bottom B, heretofore referred to, is constructed as shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 4. A single piece of burlap or the like, approximately of the shape shown in Fig. 2, is used to form the whole bottom. This piece, as is shown, is a segment of a circle larger than a semicircle. The cloth is folded along a dotted line b, Fig. 2, and a line of stitching is run from the center Z) to the end of the curved portion of the piece. The bottom is then turned inside out and placed in position. This has several advantages, among others that it permits a cone of exactly the right pitch to be constructed with very little trouble, and, furthermore, the flap left outside of the seam prevents raveling and forms a pad in the bottom of the cone, which prevents bruising the fruit. A number of variations of this construction are possible in the manufacture of crates, and. among others is the construction wherein a semicircular piece of burlap is used to start with and where the ends of the diameter are cut off at about right angles to give, roughly, the shape shown in Fig. 2. Both of these constructions permit a great saving in material and are of course but Variations of the broad idea herein shown.

For an additional precaution I have used an encircling cord E, running about the clastic casing and over the spring-slats O, and loops F, running from the longitudinal slats The operation of my improved crate is sub stantially as follows: A strip of elastic material is rolled about a bunch of bananas and the whole is then placed bodily within the crate, forcing out the spring-slats and taking the position shown in Fig. 5. The cap D is then drawn down around the stem and down upon the bunch to hold the top of it firmly in place. If still further security is desired, the elastic cord just described is placed about the casing. This forms an extremely simple and efficient way of cushioning a crate of this type, and I consider it particularly desirable.

I claim as new and desire to secure by Let-.

ters Patent- 1. In a device of the class described, the combination with a crate, of suitable longitudinally-extending bow-springs supported by said crate and springing at their medial cured to said crate, of longitudinally-extend. ing bow-springs supported by said crate and.

adapted to center a bunch of bananas, substantially as described.

4. In a device of the class described, the

combination with a crate, of a conical cap adapted to be secured to said crate and removed therefrom, said cap having a central perforation of constant diameter adapted to surround the stem of a bunch of bananas, substantially as described.

5. In a device of the class described, the combination with a crate, of an elastic tubular casing adapted to be placed within said crate and longitudinallyextending bowsprings adapted to press upon said casing,

- substantially as described.

6. In a device of the class described, the combination with a crate and a bottom suspended therein, of an elastic tubular casing adapted to be placed within said crate, and longitudinally-extending bow springs adapted to press upon said casing, substantially as described.

7. In a device of the class described,the

combination with a crate and an elastic tubular casing adapted to be placed within it, of a bottom secured to said crate independently of said casing and longitudinally-extending bowsprings adapted to press upon said casing,substantially as described.

8. In a device of the class described, the combination with a crate and an elastic tubular casing adapted to be placed within it, of a bottom suspended within said crate, longitudinal bow-springs adapted to press upon said casing and a cap adapted to be secured to the top of said crate, substantially as described.

9. In a device of the class described, the combination with a crate and an elastic tubular casing adapted to be placed within it, of a bottom suspended within said crate, longitu- 1 dinal bow-springs adapted to press upon said casing, and a centrally-perforated conical cap adapted 'to be secured to the top of said crate,

substantially as described.

lO. In a device of the class described, the combination with a crate consisting oflongitudinal slatsand transversely-extending hoops, of an elastic tubular casing adapted .to be placed within said crate and a plurality of spring-slats bowing inward toward the center of the crate, substantially as described.

11. In a device of the class described, the

combination with a crate consisting of longit udinal slats and transversely-extending hoops, of a plurality of spring-slats bowing inward toward the center of the crate, theends of said spring-slats extending outside of two of said transverse hoops and inside of two other of said transverse hoops, nearer the center of the crate, substantially as described.

12. In a device of the class described, the combination with a crate and an elastic tubular casing within said crate and bow-springs pressing upon said casing, of an encircling cord running about said casing and springslats under the body of said crate, substantially as described.

13. In a device of the class described, the combination with a crate having longitudinal slats, of an elastic tubular casing within said crate, bow-springs secured to said crate, a cord running about said bow-springs and'tubular casing and under the slats of said crate, and a series of loops running from the slats of said crate to said encircling cord, substantially as described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand, at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, this 4th day of April, A. D.

FRANK SOHMITZ. -Witnesses:

CHAS. O. SHERVEY, S. BLIss. 

